EGGBAG Sept

OUR NEXT MEETING SEPTEMBER 20, 2006
The Theme: Penny Lane

Next month-- October 18, 2006 - LECTURE - by the one and only GEORGE WOO! This will be free to paid-up members so if you have not paid your dues yet get them to the Treasurer otherwise the admission will be $10 for all others.

About our Themes -- There was a brief discussion about the themes. It was decided to remind everyone that our themes are a way to spark members' creative juices. It is not necessary to strictly adhere to the theme. In fact, members can perform anything they like (although they must perform). However, in order to be considered for the monthly prize, you must make some effort to loosely incorporate the theme.

The president announced the winner of last month's meeting would receive a complete set of Tarbell magic books. Unfortunately, the winner, Noland Montgomery, was not present and so forfeited his prize. It was explained that you have to come to the following meeting to be eligible to receive the prize. The President hopes everyone will come to the next meeting because everyone has a good chance of winning!

To help you get started this month--below are the lyrics to the Beatles Song:

Penny Lane by Lennon/McCartney

Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs of every head he's had the pleasure to know And all the people that come and go stop to say hello On the corner is a banker with a motor car the little children laugh at him behind his back And the banker never wears a "mac" in the pouring rain Very strange

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes Wet beneath the blue suburban skies I sit and meanwhile back in

Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen He likes to keep his fire engine clean It's clean machine

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my ears Full of fish and finger pies in summer meanwhile back

Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray And though she feels as if she's in a play She is anyway Penny Lane, the barber shaves another customer We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim And then the fireman rushes in from the pouring rain very strange

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes Wet beneath the blue suburban skies I sit and meanwhile back Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes There beneath the blue suburban skies Penny Lane.

SPECIAL NOTE

The Press Club has instituted a policy that requires us to be charged for you meals under a single check. Therefore, if you intend to dine, please to be prepared to pay in cash and keep track of your order. Don't forget to include tax & tip.


THE REAL BUSINESS

DUES ARE NOW PAST DUE

If you have not yet paid your dues for the 2006-2007 period which were due in May 2006 you are now past due. Please either bring your dues to the next meeting or send a check payable to Larry West Assembly No. 23 to: Noland Montgomery, 3621 Dunnington Rd., Beltsville MD 20705.

The assembly is trying to compile an updated roster of its members. We wish to include the following… please take time to return the information to ceyler1026@aol.com:

Name
Address
Phone Nos. (H) Home (W) Work or Business if you can be contacted there and your Cell phone number if you have one and can be contacted via the cell phone.
E-Mail address

Thanks!

PERFORMANCES AT THE LAST MEETING

August is usually a quiet month when folks head out of town on vacation. The theme for our meeting was appropriately Ticket to Ride.

Jim Flanigan performed a moving presentation of the Passe Passe Bottles. His performance began with the reading of an Edgar Allan Poe poem and finished with a woman secretly returning to her former lover and drinking all his wine! It was a performance that showed how magic can truly touch the heart and stir the soul.

Joe Tessmer informed the audience about the British conversion to the decimal system in the early 1970's and caused an English penny to inexplicably change places with a half dollar. Some suspected there was a hint of Scotch in his soda that night.

Phil Milstead changed a dollar bill into a ticket, but the ticket was blank! So he summoned the magical spirits and by golly changed that blank paper into a ticket to ride.
Louis Hofheimer performed an incredible feat of trickery as he switched his five dollar bill for the ten that was tightly held in Laurie Curry's sweaty little palm. With the ten dollars he was able to buy his very own ticket to ride.

Lars Klores displayed a roll of tickets. He tore off a ticket and asked Lee to write his name upon it which Lee was able to do. He placed two tickets in Lee's hand and vanished the signed ticket. When Lee opened his hand, the ticket was attached betwixt the two he had placed there earlier. Amazing!

Matt Hiller explained that a dollar will still buy you a ticket in some places. Usually they punch a hole in the ticket to make sure you can't travel twice on the same ticket. To illustrate, he punched a hole in a dollar bill with his perfectly normal pen. When he removed the pen, he was able to heal the bill and there was no hole. The DC Metro are now reviewing their entire ticketing system.

James Munton was able to combine two very separate magic plots (card to wallet and the lie detector) and also brilliantly incorporate the evening's theme into his presentation. It's a shame he is not eligible for the prize because it was a moment of genius that left the room stunned.

Larry Lipman led everyone in an enthusiastic rendition of the Beatles' Ticket to Ride. He then described how journalists approach writing a big story by asking a single question, "when is it due?" He had a card selected, lost and found. But there was a twist to the story that would have made Roald Dahl proud. The selected card transformed into a ticket!!!

Lee Eyler showed two cards in just about the cleanest manner you can think of. He showed all six sides at least twice. Then just as we were about to ask him to stop, he clicked his fingers dramatically and a little ticket squeezed out from between the two cards. It was like watching a ticket being born.

Steve Javes provided an excellent example of how a magician shouldn't need fancy props and should be able to perform with anything that comes to hand. Using a couple of pieces of paper, Steve turned 5,000 years of scientific discovery on its head by causing one of the pieces of paper to reverse in on itself.

Buddy Smith told the story of lions eating Christians. Aces switched places with court cards in a way that nobody could explain. It reminded us that lions eating Christians is not something to laugh at, but is very fascinating to watch.

Ray Eyler played a game of chance with tickets and cards. As you might suspect, Ray's skill was evident and there was nothing left to chance.

Laurie Curry got mixed up and thought the theme was Bars and Trinkets. So she did a performance about leprechauns and bars of gold. It was a very good trick but will not win the prize.

The meeting closed and everyone adjourned to the bar to look at Laurie's trinkets.

FUTURE THEMES (Subject to change)

November:-- Fixing a Hole
December:-- Helter Skelter
January:-- Here, There and Everywhere
February:-- All You Need is Love
March:-- Across the Universe
April:-- Taxman
May:-- Twist and Shout
June:-- Please Mr. Postman